Tuesday, December 9, 2003

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE UPDATE

Kirsten Dunst's appearance on CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman has been rescheduled for Thursday.

Dunst, who is reprising her role of Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man 2, originally was scheduled to appear on Friday. She will be promoting her new film, Mona Lisa's Smile.

In other Spider-Man movie news:

* The first film is part of a stunt on Cinemax for Christmas Day. The cable network is holding a vote, with the top film airing at 10 p.m. Spider-Man is going up against Men in Black II, Catch Me if You Can, Ocean's Eleven and Minority Report.

Viewers can vote at www.cinemax.com.

* Sources told The Continuum that the new Spider-Man 2 trailer will show Doctor Octopus using his tentacles in full force and that the character, played by Alfred Molina, comes off more menacing and effective as a villain than the Green Goblin did in the first film.

The trailer will be premiered online on Monday and then attached to Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

SNAKE PLISSKEN DVD COMIC

Hurricane Entertainment is entering a new realm for comics with its John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles title.

On Dec. 16 a two-disc Collector's Edition DVD of Escape from New York will hit stores. Included in the set is an exclusive DVD sized copy of issue #1 of the current Snake Plissken story arc. This custom comic edition contains a vellum pull-out with brand new and unseen art from Snake artist Tone Rodriguez. The first vellum contains a pencil and charcoal portrait of Kurt Russell as Snake. The second vellum is Tone's personal rendition of the classic 1981 Escape movie poster. This tribute appears directly above the printed signatures of John Carpenter, Debra Hill and Kurt Russell and those of Snake writer William O'Neill and artist Rodriguez.

"I'm ecstatic to report that we got everything we asked for." Said Hurricane CEO Jan Utstein-O'Neill, "The thing we wanted most was to use this unique opportunity as an inroad for our entire industry. With the help and patient collaboration of MGM and Diamond Comic Distributors the back cover features an advertisement for the Comic Shop Locator including its logo, phone number and the following text: 'You'll find Snake Plissken's very own comics series, as well as hundreds of other titles - in every imaginable genre and style -
at your local comic shop!'

"Our goal is for fans of the film to discover their hometown comic book store and pick up the remaining three issues of this Snake Plissken story arc."

"Or, quite frankly, any comic book, by any comic book publisher. We believe the rising tide raises all ships," said William O'Neill, "Most people who have never been inside a comic book store have no idea of the enormous variety of stories and genres available. With this DVD release we have the potential to eventually reach over half a million new readers. With a cliff hanger ending in issue #1 DVD fans will have to seek out a comic book store to find out what happens next. Imagine if just ten percent of these folks do just that."

Bonus material on this DVD includes a pictorial journey entitled "Making of John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles Comics" that includes a behind-the-scenes look at Hurricane Studios production process, from conception to release.

John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles #3 will reach stores on Wednesday, with #4 scheduled for a January release.

DAREDEVIL MOVIE UPDATE

Actor/rapper Coolio at last will be featured in the Daredevil movie, when a Director's Cut edition is released on DVD in April.

Coolio plays a character named Donte Jackson, but his scenes were cut in the movie's theatrical form.

"I was on trial for a murder I didn't commit and he (Matt Murdock) knew I didn't do it and represented me," Coolio told The Continuum about his role.

Coolio's character appeared in the first teaser/trailer for the film and was even included in Topps' trading card set.

POWERS VOL. 2

With Powers #30, creators Brian
Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming forever altered the status quo
of their superhero crime drama, published by Image Comics. Over the next seven
issues, they provided readers to a brief history of the Powers universe,
but now they're ready to unveil the next stage of the series'
development: Powers, Vol. 2 will launch as an all-new series this
March.

"After one of the world's most powerful superheroes unhinges,
destroying entire cities in his wake before finally destroying himself,
the President of the United States declares all Powers illegal," Bendis said. "In the new Powers number one, we follow homicide
Detective Deena Pilgrim back to work after a lengthy sick leave. We
are taken on her tour of the new world of Powers, where all Powers are
illegal, a world without heroes and a world almost cracked in half by
super-powered villains run amok and unchallenged. So essentially, this
is a whole new chapter in the Powers saga, making the new number one
completely thematic."

Bendis said he hopes his popularity because of his work on Marvel titles rubs off on Powers.

"Having entered the convention circuit again after a lengthy absence it
was amazing how many of my die-hard Daredevil and Ultimate Spider-Man
fans were not aware that i was the writer of Powers," Bendis said.
"Once they found out, they'd buy the entire library of trades right off
the table, so clearly, we needed to get the word out that Powers is
not only one of my titles, but that it is a totally unique comic book
experience or fans of superheroes or crime comics."

Said Oeming, "This really is a perfect place to step into the Powers
world! If you've been wondering what this is all about, now is your
chance to find out!"

The bulk
of the series -- Powers #1-30 -- has been collected in six trade
paperbacks, and the seventh installment (the "history lesson" from
issues 31-37) is currently planned for an early summer release.

Powers Vol. 2 #1 is scheduled to be in stores on March 24.

FRANKENSTEIN MOBSTER ART PRINT

Retailers who purchased a minimum number of copies of Image Comics' Frankenstein #1 by Mark Wheatley will be getting a bonus from Wheatley and cover artist Adam Hughes.

At the Mid Ohio Con, Hughes and Wheatley spent the better part of a
night signing 1,500 copies of an exclusive art print of Hughes' cover
image for his cover to Frankenstein Mobster #0. The 9" x 12" print is
on extra heavy art stock, allowing a very rich printing of Adam's movie
poster style illustration.

The print was shipped from the printer in Hong Kong just in time for
the signing session at the Mid Ohio Con. Retailers who qualify will
have the print before Christmas. Retailers are free to keep the print
or offer it for sale at any price they feel is reasonable.

"If you've ever been wondering what the difference is between high-speed, mass-market printing and art printing, this is a perfect
example," said Wheatley. "I think we are getting top quality printing
on the Frankenstein Mobster comics, but the art print is 50 percent more
intense and dramatic.

"Diamond Comic Distributors and Image have gone the extra mile to see
that this Holiday Gift event can make some fans and retailers happy."

Taking the holiday spirit a step further, Wheatley is giving away pages of original artwork from
issue #1. Random copies of the FM #1 issue will have elaborate, large
stickers attached to a page of the story. The fan who purchases
a stickered copy will find special instructions that will result in
getting signed copies of the comic book as well as the original
art by Wheatley for the page that is stickered. Retailers will
have the chance to get an original as well, as the sticker instructions
give details on how the fan should include store information when
contacting Wheatley. A total of five pages of original art will be
given away.

FIRST LOOK: NEGATION #25

Negation #25 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from CrossGen Entertainment. The issue is writen by Tony Bedard, penciled by Paul Pelletier, inked by Dave Meikis and colored by Laura Martin.

Here's how CrossGen describes the issue:

"On one side you
have Javi, acolyte of the mad god Charon...and mega-charged engine of
destruction. On the other you have Obregon Kaine, leader of a rag-tag group
of freedom fighters...and without an once of superhuman power. But between
Obregon's military instincts and his team's will to fight, Javi and his
strike force will learn the oh-so painful lesson that sometimes the
difference between defeat and victory is the desperate willingness to do
whatever it takes to win."

Negation #25 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.95. Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

BRIEFLY

"I am honored that an artist as revered and respected as Shinkiro has agreed
to illustrate the first cover for Spider-Man Unlimited #1," said
Marvel's talent coordinator C.B. Cebulski. "I owe many thanks to our friends
at Capcom Co. Ltd. for making this happen. We could not be more pleased with
the beautiful cover that Shinkiro-san has so masterfully rendered.

"However, I would also like to express my sincere apologies to Shinkiro-san
and Capcom Co. Ltd. for a slight blunder on Marvel's part," Cebulski
continued. "When we solicited the book, we ran a pre-production image of the
cover that Shinkiro-san had not yet completed. While it was clearly labeled 'NOT FINISHED ART,' this message was not imbedded in the image itself. This
incomplete image was then mistakenly released to the Internet community, but
it was not noted there that this was an unfinished piece. It was only after
the piece had gone out that we realized our mistake.

"I feel terrible about this. We've done a great
disservice to Shinkiro, his art and his reputation by releasing a piece of
his unfinished art. Marvel is going to do everything in its power to correct
the mistake and see that the actual finished Spider-Man Unlimited #1 cover
is distributed through the proper channels and give it the exposure it so
rightfully deserves. Again, Marvel's apologies for this error go out to
Capcom Co., Ltd. and Shinkiro. We look forward to continuing our strong
relationship with them, as well as expanding it to get other Capcom artists
working on Marvel comics."

Spider-Man Unlimited #1 goes on sale on Jan. 7.

American Splendor will be released on DVD on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

Upcoming episodes of NBC's Tutenstein include "The Curse Of The Pharaoh" on Saturday, Dec. 13 and "Clash Of The Shabtis" on Saturday, Dec. 20.

Coming Wednesday: DC news -- and much more!!!

COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES

In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links: